Below is a list of California State Senate and Assembly bills and where CAFP stands on each. Click on a bill to read a description. 

CAFP Sponsored Bills

AB 1542 (Jones) Access to Care and the Medical Home
Summary: AB 1542 adds a more functional definition of "patient-centered medical home" to California law.
Position: Sponsor

AB 2093 (M. Perez) Physician Reimbursement and Immunizations
Summary: AB 2093 would require a health plan or insurer that provides coverage for childhood and adolescent immunizations to reimburse a physician or physician group at a rate equal to or greater than the actual cost of acquiring the vaccine plus the cost of administration of the vaccine. The bill also prohibits a plan contract or insurance policy providing coverage for childhood or adolescent immunizations from imposing a deductible, copayment, coinsurance, or other cost-sharing mechanism for the administration of a childhood or adolescent immunization or for related procedures. The bill would also prohibit those contracts or policies from containing a dollar limit provision for the administration of immunizations or including the cost of those immunizations in a dollar limit provision.
Position: Sponsor 

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CAFP Priority Bills

AB 1600(Beall) Health care coverage: mental health services
Summary: Under existing law, a health care service plan contract and a health insurance policy are required to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of severe mental illnesses of a person of any age. Existing law does not define "severe mental illnesses" for this purpose but describes it as including several conditions. This bill would expand this coverage requirement for a health care service plan contract and a health insurance policy to include the diagnosis and treatment of a mental illness of a person of any age and would define mental illness for this purpose as a mental disorder defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV.
Position: Support

AB 1694(Beall) Alcohol-Related Services Program
Summary: Would Establishes the Alcohol-Related Services (ARS) Program within the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (DADP) to mitigate the harm of alcohol use and imposes a five cent mitigation fee on beer, wine, and liquor to fund the ARS Program.
Position: Support

AB 1802(Hall) Pupil health: diabetes: insulin injections
Summary: Would authorize a parent or guardian of a pupil with diabetes to designate one or more school employees to administer insulin to the pupil during the regular school day if a credentialed school nurse or other licensed health care professional is not immediately available at the school. The designee would do so only (1) on a volunteer basis, (2) in accordance with the performance instructions set forth by the licensed health care provider of the pupil, and (3) after receiving appropriate training. A designee, acting in good faith and in substantial compliance with the instructions of the pupil's licensed health care professional, is not liable in any criminal action or for civil damages in his or her individual or official capacity as a result of administering the insulin.
Position: Support

AB 1825(De La Torre) Maternity services
Summary: This bill would require health insurance policies to provide coverage for maternity services.
Position: Support

AB 1904(Villines) Out-of-state carriers
Summary: Would allow a carrier domiciled in another state to offer, sell, or renew a health care service plan or a health insurance policy in this state without holding a license issued by the department or a certificate of authority issued by the commissioner and would exempt the carrier's plan or policy from requirements otherwise applicable to plans and insurers providing health care coverage in this state if the plan or policy complies with the domiciliary state's requirements, and the carrier is lawfully authorized to issue the plan or policy in that state and to transact business there.
Position: Oppose unless Amended.
Amendment: Amend to ensure all coverage mandates that currently exist in CA would apply to out of state carriers selling in CA.

AB 1937(Fletcher) Pupil health: immunizations
Summary: Would authorize a school district to permit any licensed health care practitioner who is acting under the direction of a supervising physician and surgeon and whose license or certificate authorizes the holder to administer an immunizing agent, to administer only influenza and other time sensitive immunizations to a pupil.
Position: Support

AB 2112(Monning) Prescription Record Privacy Act
Summary: Would enact the Prescription Record Privacy Act, prohibiting the use of doctor-specific prescribing information for marketing purposes. Currently, the collection and use of data describing doctor prescribing practices is unregulated, allowing unwarranted access by third parties to information regarding doctors' prescribing practices. This bill would not prevent pharmaceutical company representatives from providing information about pharmaceuticals to doctors or to research organizations.
Position: Support

AB 2454(Torlakson) Education: school nurses
Summary: Would require every school district with over 500 pupils to employ at least one school nurse.
Position: Support

AB 2468(De Leon) Lactation accommodation: workplace designation
Summary: Would authorize an employer to use the designation "Breast-Feeding Mother-Friendly Workplace" in its promotional materials if the employer submits its workplace breast-feeding policy to the Labor Commissioner to determine that the employer's policy provides for: (1) Flexible work scheduling, including scheduling breaks and permitting work patterns that provide time for expression of breast milk; (2) A convenient, sanitary, safe, and private location, other than a toilet stall, allowing privacy for breast-feeding or expressing breast milk; (3) A convenient, clean, and safe water source with facilities for washing hands and rinsing breast-pumping equipment; (4) A convenient hygienic refrigerator in the workplace for the temporary storage of breast milk.
Position: Support

AB 2470(De La Torre) Individual health care coverage
Summary: This bill would require the DMHC director and DOI commissioner to establish standard information and health history questions to be used by health care service plans and health insurers for their individual health care coverage application forms and would require all health care service plan and health insurance applications to be reviewed and approved by the director or the commissioner before use by a health care service plan or health insurer. This bill would also require all plans and insurers to complete medical underwriting prior to issuing a health care service plan contract or health insurance policy. It would prohibit a plan or insurer from canceling or rescinding an individual health care service plan contract or individual health insurance policy unless specified conditions are met. The bill would also require a plan or insurer to annually report to the department the total number of individual health care service plan contracts or individual health insurance policies issued, canceled, or rescinded pursuant to these provisions during the preceding calendar year.
Position: Support

AB 2477(Jones) Medi-Cal: continuous eligibility
Summary: This bill would fend off attempts to require Medi-Cal beneficiaries to undergo semi-annual or quarterly eligibility determination. Semi-annual renewal requirements were passed as part of previous budget agreements and have been shown to be more of a hindrance to access than an effective cost-saving measure. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, semi-annual reporting requirements were removed in order to draw down federal funds. This reprieve, however, will end in 2011.
Position: Support

AB 2578(Jones) Health care coverage: rate approval
Summary: This bill would require approval by the Department of Managed Health Care or the Department of Insurance of an increase in the amount of the premium, copayment, coinsurance obligation, deductible, and other charges under a health care service plan or disability insurance policy. CAFP and others are concerned that the added cost will be taken from primary care physician payment.
Position: Oppose

AB 2586(Chesbro) Health care coverage: network modification: contracting providers
Summary: Would require a plan or an insurer that contracts with providers to obtain approval from its regulating department prior to implementing a network modification, and would require the plan or insurer, in order to obtain approval, to demonstrate that the modified network would meet access requirements. In addition, the bill would require plans and insurers to notify affected providers and enrollees or insureds of the modification.
Position: Support

AB 2649(Torrico) Franchise Tax Board: professional or occupational licenses
Summary: This bill would allow the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to suspend a professional license or certificate issued by the California Department of Consumer Affairs (including medical board licenses) for unpaid taxes. The bill establishes a procedure that would have to be followed and only allows suspension of the medical license after a lien has been secured and no sooner than 150 days after a preliminary notice of suspension has been sent giving the licensee an opportunity to appeal or address the tax lien. CAFP believes no external entity should be allowed to suspend a license other than the regulatory body that issues it and for the severe effect suspension has on physicians.
Position: Oppose

SB 4(Oropeza) Public resources: state beaches and parks: smoking ban
Summary: Would make it an infraction to smoke a pipe, cigar, or cigarette on a state coastal beach or state park system.
Position: Support

SB 220(Yee) Health care coverage: tobacco cessation services
Summary: Would require health care service plan contracts and health insurance policies that provide outpatient prescription drug benefits to also provide coverage for tobacco cessation services and would impose limits on copayments for those services.
Position: Support

SB 771(Alquist) Medi-Cal: continuous eligibility: semiannual status reports
Summary: This bill lengthens the period for which Medi-Cal would allow 12-month continuous Medi-Cal eligibility for children, in order for the state to qualify for additional federal funds via a temporary increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), contingent upon adoption of federal legislation, and makes the reinstatement of 12-month continuous eligibility effective only during the time period that the increased FMAP is available.
Position: Support

SB 1050(Yee) Osteopathic Medical Board of California: Naturopathic Medicine Committee
Summary: As part of the July 2009 Budget package, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California (OMBC) was changed in structure and composition by combining it with the Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine (BNM). Combining the OMBC with the BNM (previously slated for sunset) may have the unanticipated consequences of confusing the pubic, discouraging some Doctor of Osteopathy medical students from entering California residency programs, and diverting OMBC staff attention from its vital consumer protection responsibilities. This bill would remove the two newly appointed naturopathic doctors from the OMBC, replace them with public members, and allow the Naturopathic Medical Committee to appoint its own executive officer.
Position: Support

SB 1063(Cox) Healthy Families Program
Summary: This bill would increase the annual per-visit co-pay limit in Healthy Families from $250/year per family to $350/year per family. It would also requires Major Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB) to structure copayments for prescription drugs and emergency healthcare services at minimum of 150% of the equivalent generic/highest co-pay charged for non-preventive healthcare services.
Position: Oppose

SB 1069(Pavley) Physician assistants
Summary: This bill would authorize a physician assistant to order durable medical equipment, certify unemployment insurance disability and, after consultation with the supervising physician, approve, sign, modify or add to a treatment plan for individuals receiving home health services or personal care services. This law is necessary to clarify inconsistencies and omissions in existing law. All of these functions would be performed under physician supervision and consistent with existing physician assistant scope of practice. CAFP is committed to team practice between physicians and physician assistants and embraces without reservation the concept of physician supervision as a means of assuring patient safety and quality health care.
Position: Support

SB 1109(Cox) California Children and Families Program: funding
Summary: This bill would abolish the California Children and Families Commission (First 5) and the county commissions 90 days after the bill is approved. The funds would be redirected to fund Medi-Cal and Healthy Families. 
Position: Oppose

SB 1169(Lowenthal) Health care coverage: claims: prior authorization: mental health
Summary: This bill will improve the process of health plans and health insurer utilization review and medical necessity reviews by requiring plans and insurers to assign a tracking number to a claim or provider request for authorization, upon receipt thereof, and to provide acknowledgment of receipt. The bill also requires plans and insurers to notify claimants of contested claims within three days that the plan or insurer has not received all information necessary to process the claim so that the additional information may be provided as the claim goes through the reconsideration process. This bill will make it more difficult for plans and insurers to deny claims based on technicalities never relayed to the requesting provider.
Position: Support

SB 1210(Florez) Taxation: sweetened beverage tax
Summary: Would impose a fee on manufacturers or other persons who sell sugar sweetened beverages (soda and any fruit or vegetable beverage containing 10 percent or less natural juice). The revenues collected from this fee would be deposited in the Children's Health Promotion Fund, which would be charged with diminishing the human and economic costs of obesity.
Position: Support

SB 1233(Oropeza) Confidential address programs
Summary: This bill would make permanent a program that keeps the home addresses of reproductive health care providers, employees and patients confidential in public records.
Position: Support